Improved paddle-wheel



' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE'.

JOHN THOMPSON AND M. L. yDOTY, OF CHARITON, IOVA.

yIMPROVED PADDLE-WHEEL.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 24,067, dated May 17,-1859.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that We, JOHN THOMPSON and M. L. DOTY, both of Ohariton, inthe county of Lucas and State of Iowa, have invented a new and ImprovedPaddle-Wheel; and We do hereby declare that the following is a full,clear, and exact description of the same, reference bein ghad to theaccompanying drawings, making part of the speciiication.

The drawing represents a vertical section taken transversely through theshaft and through the buckets of a paddle-Wheel constructed according toour invention.

The object of thisinvention is to construct a paddle-wheel withfeatheringbuckets, which take up no backwater and which will workequally well in backing as in propelling the vessel;and the inventionconsists in changing the position of the buckets by means of weightedpinions and dogs, which are so arranged that the dogs catch into theweighted ends of the pinions, and that they retain the buckets in thedirection of the arms until they have passed the under center of thewheel, when the pinions are released by their own gravity, and thebuckets assume a position in which they take up no backwater, and inwhich they pass with but little resistance through the air, and at thesame time the arms to which the buckets are secured are provided with anextra spur or cog which keeps the paddles rigid while the Wheels Workbackward.

To enable others skilled in the art to fully understand, use, andconstruct our invention, we will proceed to describe it.

The frame A of the wheel is constructed in the usual manner, having twoflanges B, which are iirmly secured to the axle O, and attached to these{ianges are the arms D, the number of which may be varied at pleasureand which' are strengthened by braces E, and the opposite arms areunited by rods a. The iianges B may be made of cast-iron, to which thearms are secured by means of screws and nuts in the usual manner, andthe number of the braces E can be increased by placing two between eachpair of successive arms, if it is desirable to build an extra strongwheel.

Pivoted to the outer ends of the arms D are the toothed segments b,which gear into pinions or segments F, which are secured to the arms Dby means of pivots c, and to which the weights G are attached by meansof rods Land these weights are provided with ahook e, which enables thedogs H to retain the same under certain circumstances, which will bepresently explained. 'lhese dogs are also secured to the arms D by meansot pivots e, andl attached to the same are the weighted bars f, which bytheir own gravity bring the dogs in such a position that they eitherretain the weights G or that they release the same. In order to preventthe weighted bars f from going too far one Way or the other, stops g andh are attached to the iianges B, the stops g having the object to retainthe weighted bars, while the dogs engage with the Weights G, and thestops h being for the purpose of preventing the Weighted bars fromfalling any farther the other way than is necessary to release theweights.

The buckets I are rigidly attached to arms t', which extend from thesegment h, and these buckets maybe constructed of wood or of iron, andas large or small as is desirable; but their weight must be such that itis easily overcome by the action of the weights G, so that the positionof the buckets can be governed by the position assumed by the weights Gas the Wheel revolves, and the segments b are provided with spurs j,which extend from the same on the side opposite to the arms t' andnearly in line with the same, and these spurs by striking against thepinions F keep the bucketsrigid while the wheels are backing.

The operation is as follows: The wheels Work in the direction of thearrow in order to propel the vessel to which they are attached, and assoon as the arms have passed the vertical line drawn through the axletheposition of the buckets is changed by the action of the weights G,and they are retained in this posit-ionby the dogs H. The arms l, 2, and3 are represented as having the vertical line above the shaft and thearms 4 5 6 as having passed this line below the shaft C. As soon as oneof the arms passes the vertical above the shaft the weighted barattached to this arm changes its position from the stop h to the stop g,and the dog H is brought in such a position that it is ready to engagewith the hook e, attached to the Weight G, and at the same time thisweight comes down to the position represented on the arms l, 2, and 3,so that its hook e catches over the dog H, and

ny the motion of the weight G and by means of Athe pinions F and of thesegment b the bucket attached to this arm is brought in line with thearm, as clearly represented by the buckets attached to the arms 1, 2,and 3, and in this position the bucket acts with its full effect topropel the vessel.v As soon, however, as the arms pass the vertical linebelow the shaft the Weighted bar f changes its position from the stop gto the stop h, the dog,` H releases the Weight G, as clearly representedon the arm 4, and the bucket is free to yield to the action of theWater, so that it does not raise any backwater, and that the same inpassing through the air offers the least possible resistance. Il thewheel works in the opposite direction, the buckets will enter the waterin the position represented at the arm 4, and the action of the waterwill force them back until the spur j strikes against the pin- JOHNTHOMPSON. l M. L. DOTY. Witnesses: v

B. B. SIGGINO, WM. HARDEN.

